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Stakeholder theory in practice

I bought my Peugeot car from a dealer where I was also a consultant. This means I am on both its customer and supplier databases. However, I have not traded (buying or selling) with this business for three years now. Still I receive mailings – from both databases. This business does not really understand integrated communications or stakeholder theory.

First, unless someone is going to check with me about being on either databases, I may as well be deleted and save some money. Indeed, the original owner sold the business, so the new people should really clean up the system. No-one there has a relationship with me, I do not hold a stake in the business and have little residual interest in it.

Secondly, the mailings I receive are not always consistent and tell customers and suppliers different things. This may not matter, but sometimes it does.

Finally, the dealership has no idea of timing. Every letter I receive carries a date of at least a week prior to the date it arrives. Even the British post office is not that bad, so clearly the process of writing, approving and sending the letters needs attention. The worst thing though is that the letters generally communicate something that has happened by the time the correspondence arrives – so despite being written in the future tense, there is an odd time lag between my world and that of the dealership.

Actually, the correspondence is of little interest to me and I only read them as they make brilliant material for teaching students how not to produce a letter.

In addition to the above, the grammar is dreadful. Sentences are often of more than 50 words in length. There are changes in font size and choice. So many lessons in a single one-sided letter.

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Heather Yaxley PhD

Dr. Heather Yaxley is passionate about sustainable careers, reflective practice and professional development. I am a rhizomatic educator, practitioner, consultant, academic and scholar. As a qualified academic, I teach the CIPR professional qualifications with PR Academy and have experience teaching at various Universities. I run the Motor Industry Public Affairs Association (MIPAA) and my own strategic consultancy. I was awarded by PhD researching Career Strategies in Public Relations by Bournemouth University in 2017. I'm a published author, with books, chapters and academic papers to my name.
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One thought on “Stakeholder theory in practice”

I had a letter recently recalling my son’s car for the bonnet catch (yes, a Clio). He’d recently sold it to a local garage and this letter came from the DVLA.
It’s scary to think that people with potentialy dangerous cars are not contacted due to so many changes of ownership and database updates.